Hi all,
I thought....lets share my amazement about this little gem.
Last Monday I went to a small air-show near my home town in the rural N-E of The Netherlands. I just had bought the E-PL5 with the MK2 14-42 kit-lens. No other lenses yet.....
Not the lens to take at a air-show (I know), but I thought.....Static shots will be my main business there. I could get reasonably close so no problems as expected.:smile:
After the flying started I thought..."What the heck" , lets see how the AF performs, just for the fun of it, not expecting any keepers with that mundane kit-lens, right?
Ahummm......Was I in for a surprise when I loaded them into my PC at home.

Here are the details:
E-PL5 with the 14-42 MKII Kit-lens
Weather conditions: overcast with sun (if present) behind me
All hand held with IS1 activated, AV mode + 1.0 EV (auto ISO)
Most used aperture: anything between F6.1-8.0
AF-S with the 1 or 9 center focusing points (a bit playing around) selected.
Focusing was done on the lcd screen. (no VF-3 yet)
ORF files converted to DNG and then loaded into LR 3.0 and processed.
Enough talk, here are the results.

The numbers 4-9 are obviously heavenly cropped but that's not my point.
I am so amazed about the AF and the resolving power of that little kit-lens.
But maybe you think otherwise. Can't wait to get my hands on the panasonic lumix 100-300 though......
Please share your thoughts, opinions.

i just got an E-PM2, and discovered that the kit lens delivers faster focusing and more, better bokeh than my previous panasonic kit lenses. i'm actually pretty impressed with the little thing, and your pics definitely do it justice.

I especially love #9, but I think you did a great job with all of the photos, and I'm glad to see the camera didn't let you down. I think the "kit" stuff is generally better these days, especially the 14-42II.

Thanks to all who posted. I am still amazed about the quality this combo showed. I ordered some prints of the nine pictures I showed here, and they will arrive tomorrow.
They should be the "proof of the pudding". Meanwhile I am contemplating about buying another lens. The VF-2 will most certainly be bought, but what about a tele.
I am torn between the Panny 45-200 and the Panny 100-300. The first one costs me € 275 at my regular dealer and the latter will cost me € 499.
That's a big difference, not only in price but also in weight and portability, I guess.
Air-shows are not my main subject so for that the extra reach is no valid reason. Any thoughts about what to choose?

Thanks to all who posted. I am still amazed about the quality this combo showed. I ordered some prints of the nine pictures I showed here, and they will arrive tomorrow.
They should be the "proof of the pudding". Meanwhile I am contemplating about buying another lens. The VF-2 will most certainly be bought, but what about a tele.
I am torn between the Panny 45-200 and the Panny 100-300. The first one costs me € 275 at my regular dealer and the latter will cost me € 499.
That's a big difference, not only in price but also in weight and portability, I guess.
Air-shows are not my main subject so for that the extra reach is no valid reason. Any thoughts about what to choose?

Click to expand...

Well I have the same problema with also the new Oly 75-300II thrown in. But I think I'll get the 100-300 which is maybe the best value for money given it's 300 reach OR a 4/3 70-300 with adapter - that I have.

Well I have the same problema with also the new Oly 75-300II thrown in. But I think I'll get the 100-300 which is maybe the best value for money given it's 300 reach OR a 4/3 70-300 with adapter - that I have.

Click to expand...

I just have made the decision to go for another option. The Panasonic 45-150 OIS. The overall sharpness at all the focal lenghts seems amazing according to the tests.
The lens is more compact compared to the other two mentioned but,I gladly trade in 50mm on the long end for the overall IQ on the total zoom range.
Specially because I concluded that my daily use of that lens will not need the 200-300 range. 90-300mm in full frame terms will cover most of my needs to be serious.
So.....excellent IQ, in the smallest package seems the right fit for my E-PL5. Oh...of course I ordered the VF-2 also.
To finish my GAS attack off, I grabbed the LH 61-C so my amazing 14-42 is now dressed up with a proper hood. The goodies will arrive in two days. :smile::smile::smile:

I just have made the decision to go for another option. The Panasonic 45-150 OIS. The overall sharpness at all the focal lenghts seems amazing according to the tests.
The lens is more compact compared to the other two mentioned but,I gladly trade in 50mm on the long end for the overall IQ on the total zoom range.
Specially because I concluded that my daily use of that lens will not need the 200-300 range. 90-300mm in full frame terms will cover most of my needs to be serious.
So.....excellent IQ, in the smallest package seems the right fit for my E-PL5. Oh...of course I ordered the VF-2 also.
To finish my GAS attack off, I grabbed the LH 61-C so my amazing 14-42 is now dressed up with a proper hood. The goodies will arrive in two days. :smile::smile::smile:

Click to expand...

Good choice but for me it's not possible for two reasons: I already have the 14-150 and need the extra reach but there is a new entry; the Oly 75-300 MKII which I read is really good and less expensive than the older one.

Good choice but for me it's not possible for two reasons: I already have the 14-150 and need the extra reach but there is a new entry; the Oly 75-300 MKII which I read is really good and less expensive than the older one.

Click to expand...

Seems logic to me, everyone has his own needs. I noticed the test about the Pana 45-150 here: Panasonic Lumix G Vario 45-150mm f/4.0-5.6 Lens Review and that made the decision easy.
I reckon that if I ever need the extra reach I'll search for a adapted fast manual focus 1:2.8/200 prime. Or perhaps Oly starts making them in the future for :43:

This is another one. Only this time I processed it with OV-3.
I think I might as well skip processing in L.R.3 and start using OV-3 instead.
The program is fast enough on my PC and I think I like the output better.

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